77% of US Internet users to watch videos online by 2014

It doesn't take a media mogul to see there's a radical influx in online video viewership. Web-goers are increasingly reliant on sites like Hulu for TV shows and other premium content, while YouTube is serving upwards of two billion videos a day – most of which are user-created.

According to eMarketer, online viewership rose by 11.3% from 2008 to 2009, and the number of people watching full-length movies on the Internet more than doubled during the same period. By 2014, the firm believes 77% of all US Internet users will watch videos online.

Those numbers aren't entirely driven by folks sitting in front of a desktop or laptop, though. Internet-enabled TVs are increasingly popular and In-Stat predicts that US shipments of Web-ready devices that support TV applications to increase from 14.6 million this year to 83.4 million by 2014.

Unsurprisingly, eMarketer found that people aged 18 to 24 watched the most online content, with 25 to 34-year-olds and teens not far behind. Folks in their early 20s catch most if not all of their TV shows through online mediums, and other demographics are gradually following their lead.

"If the first iteration of online video was about silly pet tricks on YouTube, the next wave will be about professionally produced full-length content such as TV shows, movies and live sports," said Paul Verna, eMarketer senior analyst. "This shift will be propelled by a combination of technology integration, demographics and a growing comfort level with the idea of watching video hosted on Websites."